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Cape Verde news update, February 28th

In Airports, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Infrastructure, Investments, Tourism, Travel on February 28, 2010 at 10:24 am

POLITICS

The representative of the European Union (EU) in Cape Verde, Josep Coll, expressed today, the wish to announce during the Spanish Presidency, the partnership agreement to mobility between Cape Verde and Europe, whose negotiations are in progress (Inforpress).

ECONOMY

The Parliament approved, with abstention of the União Cabo-Verdiana Independente e Democrática (UCID), the alteration of the legal regime of the exploration of fortune games that will legalise the installation of gambling house in the country (Inforpress).

ENERGY

The Department of Energy is working to expand the building at the Palmarejo power plant and reinforce its capacity with two additional Wartsila 10 MW generators as a part of the government’s effort to centralize electricity production on the island of Santiago (A Semana).

TOURISM

The Department of Tourism held a forum in Praia to present its new website, the new tourism magazine and the Cape Verde Brand. The event, denominated “Cape Verde Wave” (“Onda Cabo Verde”), is hoped to involve all those connected to the sector in the implementation of the Strategic Tourism Plan (A Semana).

FOGO

São Filipe mayor Eugénio Veiga called for the creation of an institution of investigation and research in the areas of volcanology and geophysics on the island of Fogo. The mayor’s request comes following a study by Germany’s Leibniz Institute, which warned about the possibility of an underwater volcanic eruption near the island of Fogo (A Semana).

AIRPORTS

The decision to locate the future Santo Antão airport in the municipality of Porto Novo enjoys the consensus of political institutions, business owners and society at large, all of whom say that what is most important is to have an airport that serves the island’s development (A Semana).

Angola news update, February 21st

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Brazil, Investments, Oil on February 21, 2010 at 10:55 am

LAW

Government ministers and senior officials could be quizzed in a $137m embezzlement probe at Angola’s central bank, the public prosecutor siad (News24).

OIL

Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras said it found oil in two wells off the coast of Angola, according to a regulatory filing (Reuters).

Angola, vying with Nigeria to be Africa’s biggest oil producer, plans to ship 3.5 percent fewer crude cargoes in April than in the previous month (Bloomberg).

BUSINESS

The Portuguese Barbot paint and varnish company is preparing to nearly double production in Angola by building a second factory, the company’s executive director for Angola, Joao Carlos Barbot, told the newspaper Publico (Macauhub).

AIRPORTS

The second phase of refurbishment and expansion work on 4 de Fevereiro International Airport in Luanda, is due to be concluded in March, the chairman of Angolan state airport manager, Enana, said (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, February 14th

In Airports, Banking, Cape Verde, Media, Oil, Politics, Ports, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on February 14, 2010 at 2:44 pm

POLITICS

Cape Verdean President Pedro Verona Pires met with a Venezuelan delegation made up of three cabinet ministers and the director of the country’s Department of Petroleum. The visit is the first by high-level Venezuelan officials to Cape Verde, and comes as the two countries are seeking to expand bilateral relations (A Semana).

At the same time, the president of Cape Verde’s National Assembly signed a cooperation protocol with Cuba’s parliament. The accord comes as part of a visit by a Cape Verdean parliamentary delegation to Cuba (A Semana).

The new extraordinary ambassador and plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cape Verde in Senegal, Francisco Pereira da Veiga, promised today in Praia to work with persistence to fulfil the mission that was conferred to him (Inforpress).

AIR TRAVEL

The African market is responsible for 15% of TAP Air Portugal’s revenues, and is expected to grow some 6.5% this year. The continent represented the only market in which the Portuguese airline saw growth last year, reason enough for Africa to be considered one of TAP’s most important destinations. TAP will soon start operating flights to and from Sao Vicente’s Sao Pedro airport (A Semana).

TACV Cabo Verde Airlines will begin operating a direct weekly flight between São Vicente and Portuguese capital Lisbon on April 29 in order to respond to demand in Cape Verde’s northern region (A Semana).

TACV is in negotiations aiming to take Brazilian adepts to the first World Football Cup to be hold in Africa,  next June (Inforpress).

TELECOM

The liberalization of the telecommunications sector in Cape Verde in 2006 resulted in an exponential increase in the number of mobile telephone users from some 100,000 to the current figure of nearly 300,000 (A Semana).

MEDIA

The Council of Ministers, Cape Verde’s cabinet, this week analyzed a number of proposed alterations to the law regulating media outlets and journalistic activities in the country. The main innovations include the introduction of on-line publications, the consecration of collective entities’ right to respond and the right to clarification (A Semana).

PORTS

Rough seas with waves of more than five meters caused the rupture of some 30 meters of the wall protecting Vale dos Cavaleiros port in São Filipe, on the island of Fogo. The waves are now endangering various other buildings at the sea port, including the passenger terminal (A Semana).

The first phase of refurbishment and expansion work on the port of Porto Novo is due to begin next May, the chief executive of national ports management company, Enapor, Jorge Pimenta Rodrigues said in Santo Antão (Macauhub).

BANKING

The chairman of the board of the Administration of the African Bank of Investment (BAI – Cape Verde ), David Jasse, announced that his bank intends to conquer 15 percent of the Cape Verdean market in three years (Inforpress).

WIND

The installation of four wind farms on four Cape Verdean islands is due to begin in the archipelago’s capital Praia, whose municipal council signed an agreement to grant land for the project on the outskirts of the city. Representing an investment of US$84 million, the four wind farms will produce between 22.5 and 28 megawatts of power, and the wind farm to be built near Praia will have a capacity of 10 megawatts (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, February 7th

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Elections, Energy, Oil, Politics, Ports, Tourism, Travel on February 7, 2010 at 11:34 pm

POLITICS

More than 500 citizens will hold a dinner this Friday on the island of São Vicente to encourage Minister of Infrastructures and Transportation Manuel Inocêncio Sousa to run for President of Cape Verde in 2011 (A Semana).

ECONOMY

The government plans to introduce a legal minimum wage in Cape Verde before the end of this year, according to an announcement made by Prime Minister José Maria Neves following a meeting in which labor union federation UNTC-CS’s general secretary Júlio Ascensão Silva presented the premier with a study the organization carried out on the issue (A Semana).

The resident coordinator of the United Nations, Petra Lantz, said that the group of support to the transition of Cape Verde to the group of Less Advanced Countries (LAC) evaluates the process positively (Inforpress).

The Entrepreneurial Development and Innovation Agency (ADEI) will promote a debate February 5 on the proposal for a bill for the Legal Regime for the Recovery of Businesses, which intends to regulate under what conditions companies may declare bankruptcy. The discussion will include the presence of Minister of the Economy Fátima Fialho (A Semana).

BUSINESS

Cape Verdean fuel company Enacol in 2009 consolidated its overall leadership of the market in Cape Verde, with a market share of 54.8 percent, the company said in a statement issued in Praia (Macauhub).

BANKING

The Banco Africano de Investmentos Cabo Verde, in which the Angolan Banco Africano de Investmimentos and Sonangol hold a majority stake, has opened two branches in Praia, the bank’s communication director announced (Macauhub).

PORTS

Construction of the deepwater port in Mindelo will generate annual revenue of between 14.2 million and 21.4 million euros up to 2023, the head of Cape Verde’s National Port Administration Company (Enapor) has stated (Macauhub).

The Director of the management unit of the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA-Cape Verde), Laurent Medhi Brito, assured today  that the works of the Port of Praia may not exceed the period of completion, scheduled for September (InforPress).

The contest for adjudication of the work of expansion and modernisation of the ports of Vale dos Cavaleiros (Fogo) and Furna (Brava) has just been launched (Inforpress).

The three ship container scanners ordered from Chinese company Nuctech by Cape Verdean port management company Enapor to reinforce security in the ports of Praia, Mindelo and Palmeira have arrived in Cape Verde. The equipment, however, will only begin functioning in April of this year (A Semana).

AIR TRAVEL

The national air transporter, TACV carried out the first commercial flight with intercontinental destination to São Pedro’s international airport in São Vicente, from Boston in the USA (Inforpress) .

TACV Cabo Verde Airlines has signed a contract with Portuguese tourist agency Entremares to carry out charter flights during the summer to the islands of Sal and Boa Vista (A Semana).

ENERGY

Cape Verde has the capacity to produce 12 megawatts of wind energy, putting it 5th place in the overall ranking of African and Middle Eastern countries in the sector (A Semana).

Introducing Brazil Weekly

In Airports, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Energy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Real estate on January 31, 2010 at 2:19 pm

From now on Brazil will have its own pages on Atlantico Weekly, which of course does justice to the country’s size and importance. The first issue of Brazil Weekly is now online. It deals with political, economic, business and related news in the same way as you may expect from Atlantico Weekly.

Go to Brazil Weekly

Surinam news update, January 31st

In Airports, Banking, Economy, Infrastructure, Investments, Ports, Surinam, Tourism, Travel on January 31, 2010 at 1:03 pm

FINANCE

Surinam insurance company Self Reliance announced it will take over Clico-Surinam, another local insurance company that was hit hard by the global crisis. The bail-out by Self Reliance was made possible with financial support from the Surinam Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Surinam (DWT).

PORTS

A trio of local banks, DSB-bank, Hakrinbank and RBTT will loan an amount of 28 million SRD to Surinam Port authority NV Havenbeer. This sum is needed to co-finance a second phase of the expansion and improvement of Paramaribo’s Nieuwe Haven Terminal (DWT).

AIR TRAVEL

SLM, Surinam Airways, is considering hiring a second Airbus A340-300 for the expansion of its route Paramaribo-Amsterdam and the development of new routes to the US, Canada and Europe (DWT).

Angola news update, January 31st

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Energy, Hotels, Infrastructure, Investments, Oil, Politics, Ports, Real estate, Retail, Security, South Africa, Telecom, Travel on January 31, 2010 at 12:32 pm

ECONOMY

Two years ago, oil-rich Angola was reckoned to have one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. In both 2006 and 2007 real GDP had surged by around 20%, and double-digit growth rates were widely predicted for at least the next five years. Then oil prices crashed with the global recession. Last year the economy is estimated to have grown, at best, by 1.5%. But it is bouncing back. Some say Angola will be among the world’s top five performers again this year, with growth exceeding 8%. Read the full story in The Economist.

Though Angola wants to woo foreign investors, everything seems contrived to deter all but the most intrepid and patient. Getting a visa, for a start, can take many months. Finding somewhere to stay in Luanda, a capital city built for 500,000 that is now home to 5m, is not much easier. A single hotel room, if you can find one, will set you back $500-600 a night. Read about the virtues you need for doing business in Angola in The Economist.

ATLANTICO

The political and economic rivalry between SA and Angola is expected to graduate into a battle for dominance in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) , says US-based global intelligence think-tank Stratfor (BusinessDay).

BANKING

Standard Bank sees Angola as key growth market. Warming relations between Angola and SA and the ties Africa’s biggest bank by assets has with China and Russia — rivals in attempts to secure access to Angolan resources — should help the new business, a senior executive said (BusinessDay). Africa’s biggest bank by assets plans to invest millions of dollars in Angola to set up a commercial and investment bank and offer retail banking services (News24).

BUSINESS

A new production line for soft drinking production will be operating from May this year at Sefa factory, that will increase the company’s production capacity from 3,000 to 10,500 cases per day (Angop).

PORTS

Lobito Port, in the central Benguela Province, will handle over  12,000 tons of load per year, its director told ANGOP.

OIL

Angola and India have signed a memorandum of  understanding in the oil sector, aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation, mainly in the entrepreneurial field (ANGOP).

AIR TRAVEL

Angolan airline Taag plans to carry 1.7 million passengers per year as of 2012 as compared to 1.1 million currently, the coordinator of the company’s management commission, Pimentel de Araújo said (Macauhub).

INVESTMENT

The Angolan government approved 39 investment projects valued at a total of US$7 billion. In a statement released after a Council of Ministers meeting, the government said that the investments were focused on the retail, real estate, telecommunications, energy and transport sectors (Macauhub).

Portuguese group Unicer plans to invest US$120 million, US$85 million of which in the first phase, in construction of a beer factory in Angola’s Bengo province, the group’s representative in Angola, José Teixeira said in Luanda (Macauhub).

Brazilian group Odebrecht is analysing the possibility of investing in a petrochemical project in Angola, the group’s chief executive told Brazilian newspaper Estado de São Paulo (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, January 31st

In Airports, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Politics, Tourism, Travel on January 31, 2010 at 11:32 am

ECONOMY

The government has expressed its satisfaction with the improved raking of Cape Verde on the 2010 Economic Freedom Index released by The Heritage Foundation /Wall Street Journal, and has downplayed the drop in one slot since last year (A Semana).

European Union

Cape Verde’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities, José Brito, met in Brussels with European Union diplomatic officials for the first evaluation meeting between Praia and Brussels following the Lisbon Treaty (A Semana).

BANKING

The new board of directors of Cape Verdean bank Banco Comercial do Atlântico, owned by Portugal’s Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), is considering the possibility of a capital increase this year, the bank’s new chairman said (VisaoNews).

Also Cape Verdean bank, Banco Interatlântico plans to increase its capital from 600 million to 1 billion Cape Verdean escudos (from 5.4 million to 9.06 million euros), the bank’s chairman said (Macauhub).

TRAVEL

TAP-Air Portugal is waiting for operational conditions to start flying directly from Lisbon to the Cape Verdean island of Sao Vicente, the representative of the Portuguese airline said (Macauhub).

Brazil news update, January 24th

In Airports, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Energy, Foreign Trade, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Real estate, Retail, Tourism, Travel on January 24, 2010 at 10:45 pm

POLITICS

Gandhi had to wait until 34 years after his death before he appeared on cinema screens around the world. George Bush junior, by contrast, was the victim of an Oliver Stone biopic during the last year of his presidency. Now a Brazilian director, Fábio Barreto, has done the same for Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, as he starts his final year of office (The Economist).

It is 25 years since Brazil moved from dictatorship to democracy, but its army remains surprisingly unreformed. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was rudely reminded of this just before Christmas when he signed a decree calling for a truth commission to investigate torture, killings and disappearances during military rule between 1964 and 1985. Within 24 hours the heads of the three armed forces threatened to resign along with Nelson Jobim, the defence minister. Lula seemed quick to retreat. He was reported as saying the government would think again (The Economist).

Speculation is intensifying over the political future of Henrique Meirelles, Brazil’s central bank chief, as October’s general elections draw closer, raising concerns over the continuity of monetary policy (Reuters).

2010 will mark the election of the 36th official President of the Brazilian Republic. Although the official calendar for campaigning does not begin until October 3rd, the political atmosphere is already dense with debate. The deadline for candidate registry isn’t until July 5th, but with parties looking to affiliate themselves to recent Brazilian political triumphs – such as the Olympics – a handful of pre-candidates for the presidency are already popping into the limelight. Amongst the many who plan to run, the current forerunners are: Marina Silva (PV-AC), José Serra (PSDB-SP), Dilma Rousseff (PT), and Ciro Gomes (PSB-CE). Check them out at Rio Times.

ECONOMY

Brazilian households like to buy the newest gadget and prefer to spend on items that will enhance their short-term wellbeing rather than save for a rainy day. This partly explains Brazil’s low saving rate – which has fluctuated around 17 per cent of GDP over the last decade, a number that contrasts sharply with China’s 45-50 per cent. Read the view by Arminio Fraga.

Brazil’s economy should grow 5.2 percent in 2010, the country’s finance minister said, underscoring a strong rebound in Latin America’s largest economy (Reuters).

The European Union and Mercosur, the South American trade bloc led by Brazil and Argentina, are studying restarting talks this year to reach a free-trade agreement, an EU trade official said (Bloomberg).

Brazilian exports to the US fell by 42 percent in 2009, to US$15.7 billion, with China replacing the US as Brazil’s top export market, with US$19.9 billion of exports, or more than 13 percent of all Brazil’s exports, according to figures released by the Ministry of Trade (Rio Times).

BANKING & FINANCE

Banco Bradesco, Brazil’s second-largest private-sector bank, said it agreed to buy Mexican bank Ibi Mexico for an undisclosed sum, marking its first international foray in retail banking as it seeks to take advantage of rising credit demand (Reuters).

Brazil’s state-run utility holding Eletrobras plans to raise $4 billion this year to hedge costs associated with the commercialization of energy from the giant Itaipu dam. However, that money will not go to paying overdue dividends, company president Jose Antonio Muniz said. Eletrobras will pay those dividends from its own funds, he said. The company agreed earlier on Friday to pay 10.33 billion reais ($5.65 billion) in overdue dividends dating to the 1970s (Reuters).

Qatar is interested in buying minority stakes in Petrobras and Banco do Brasil, a Brazilian cabinet official told Reuters. The country’s investment agency already owns a $300 million stake in Brazil’s Vale, the world’s largest iron ore miner (Reuters).

OIL

Brazilian oil and gas start-up company OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes saidit had found signs of hydrocarbons in a well in the southern part of the offshore Campos basin (Reuters).

MINING

A Brazilian scientist is developing a method of purifying contaminated waste water that accumulates at mining sites by using a genetically modified bacteria that can absorb heavy metals (Reuters).

INVESTMENT

Carrefour SA, Europe’s biggest retailer, plans to invest 2.5 billion reais ($1.4 billion) in Brazil in the next two years to expand in the north and northeast regions of Latin America’s largest economy (Bloomberg).

REAL ESTATE

Housing prices in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro will jump as much as 40 percent in the next year as record-low interest rates and a growing Brazil economy boost demand, according to the chief executive officer of Gafisa SA (Bloomberg).

AIR TRAVEL

The continuing growth of the domestic airline industry has stimulated investors and over the last few months more airlines have obtained permits to begin operations while others have obtained concessions for new domestic routes (Rio Times).

Brazil news update, January 3rd

In Airports, Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Ports, Real estate on January 3, 2010 at 3:43 pm

ECONOMY

Brazil’s government will turn its focus to investment and away from stimulus measures, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, as the country’s economy makes a robust exit from recession (Reuters).

Brazil’s state development bank BNDES will focus its 2010 lending on energy projects and infrastructure to support continued economic growth, bank president Luciano Coutinho said (Reuters).

Brazil’s tax collection may rise 11 percent next year, allowing the government to boost spending while still meeting its fiscal targets (Bloomberg)

RIO

‘The Olympic Effect’ may already be well underway in Rio’s real estate market with prices expected to double in many of the city’s neighborhoods by 2016, but values in one of the most fashionable parts of the city will receive another significant boost later on this month (Rio Times).

BUSINESS

American agribusiness company Bunge is more than doubling its sugar cane milling capacity in Brazil, by acquiring sugar and ethanol producer Moema for US$452 million in stock (Rio Times).

Brazilian lender Itau Unibanco is considering buying stakes in one of the United Kingdom banks rescued by the government during the height of the global credit crisis of 2008, the U.K. Sunday Times reported (Reuters).

Brazilian mining company Vale expects iron ore production in 2010 to reach about 300 million tonnes, Chief Executive Roger Agnelli said (Reuters).

Brazil’s state-controlled energy firm Petrobras bought a 40.4 percent stake in a mill that produces ethanol biofuel from sugar cane, the company said in a filing with the local securities market regulator (Reuters).

Goldman Sachs plans to start a private pension fund in Brazil in the first quarter of 2010. New York-based Goldman is negotiating a partnership with an insurance company to distribute the fund (Bloomberg).

PORTS & AIRPORTS

LLX Logistica, the Brazilian logistics firm controlled by billionaire Eike Batista, said it obtained a loan of 408 million reais ($234 million) for its Sudeste Port from state development bank BNDES (Reuters).

Brazil’s government will raise investments in airports to prepare for the 2014 World Cup, Budget Minister Paulo Bernardo said. Brazil may have 10 percent more passengers during this period, Bernardo said in an interview to government radio Radiobras (Bloomberg).

OIL

Brazilian oil and gas start-up company OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes said it had found signs of more hydrocarbons in well 1-OGX-3-RJS, off Rio de Janeiro’s coast in the southern part of the Campos basin (Reuters).

ENERGY

Demand for electricity in Brazil will probably soar next year as factories ramp up output and household income continues to rise, a government agency said (Reuters).

Angola news update, January 3rd

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Economy, Investments, Media, Oil, Ports on January 3, 2010 at 2:56 pm

ECONOMY

Traffic defines life in Luanda, Angola’s rapidly expanding capital. Traffic and fresh concrete. In many minds, Angola remains synonymous with the Africa of war, a bullet-strafed nation where civil conflict raged for so long that it seemed beyond redemption. Read the report in the Mail & Guardian.

Angola is in the international spotlight. From magazine covers to billboards, messages of “Viva Angola” and “Proud to be Angolan” in Luanda mark the war-scarred Southern African nation’s rising international presence. Read another report in the Mail & Guardian.

OIL

Angola will not hold a bidding round for new oil concessions for at least another year, the head of state-owned oil company Sonangol said (Reuters).

The total production of crude-oil in Angola, from January to November 2009, reached 601,492,344 barrels, which represents a significant decrease in comparison to the same period of 2008, in which was produced 635,755,166 barrels (ANGOP).

Angola’s oil minister, Botelho de Vasconcelos said that the new refinery located in Lobito would only be concluded in 2014 or 2015. Angolan newspaper Jornal de Angola reported that the new refinery was intended to make up for the current refining deficit of around 50 percent (Macauhub).

MEDIA

A company owned by the daughter of Angola’s president agreed to buy a 10 percent stake in Portugal’s pay TV and Internet company Zon in a deal that also marks the beginning of Zon’s expansion to Africa (Reuters).

Zon Multimedia SA, which announced a venture to provide pay-television service in Angola, said the African country’s market has the potential to grow several times over (Bloomberg).

STOCK EXCHANGE

Angola may list parts of its state-run oil company, Sonangol SA, in 2012. Sonangol is considering listing units in Johannesburg and New York, as well as in Luanda once the exchange opens, he said (Bloomberg).

PORTS

At least USD 3.2 million were invested throughout the year 2009 in the rehabilitation of the Port of the southwest Namibe Province, thus enabling the reclassification and improvement of the first 240 metres of the wharf (ANGOP).

AIRPORTS

Over 500,000 passangers will travel every year through the newly inaugurated Mukanka International airport, in Lubango, southern Huila province, against the 120,000 handled by the old airport, according to Angolan Transport minister, Augusto da Silva Tomás (ANGOP).

INVESTMENTS

Sab Miller Angola plans to invest US$120 million in a tin can factory that is due to start operating in October, 2010, in Viana municipality, Luanda province (Macauhub).

Portuguese construction company Mota-Engil said Wednesday it planned to invest, in 2010, in the construction of a factory to manufacture nails and electro-soldered mesh in Benguela, Angola (Macauhub).

BANKING

Net profits in Angola’s banking sector posted growth of 98 percent in 2008, according to an annual study by KPMG about the banking sector in Angola (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, December 20th

In Airports, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Politics, Ports, Security, Telecom, Travel on December 20, 2009 at 4:59 pm

SECURITY

The border service at Sal’s Amílcar Cabral International Airport has started carrying out consultations using the new PASSE border control system, the same day the system was officially unveiled by Minister of Internal Administration Lívio Lopes and by Portugal’s State Secretary of Internal Administration, Dalila Araújo (A Semana).

ECONOMY

Between 2005 and 2007, Cape Verde grew at an annual average of 8.4%, according to data to be presented tomorrow, December 16, by the National Statistics Institute INE) (A Semana).

United States congressman Barney Frank congratulated the directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for its historic decision to make Cape Verde the first country eligible for a second Millennium Challenge Account compact in Washington, D.C. The MCC’s chief executive officer responded with praise for Cape Verde (A Semana).

The National Assembly approved a bill reducing customs tariffs for construction and pavements materials, aircraft parts, telecommunications, electricity, sound and photographic equipment and accessories, and a number of other articles. The bill was approved 51 favorable votes – 39 from the PAICV, 11 from the MpD and one from the UCID – and two abstentions (A Semana).

AIR TRAVEL

São Pedro Airport on the island of São Vicente has been authorized to receive international flights by the Civil Aeronautics Agency. The airport  received its first international cargo flight, a Boeing 737 sent by Portuguese airline TAP that will bring equipment for the airline’s international operations on the island (A Semana).

PORTS

The first phase in the expansion and modernization of Vale dos Cavaleiros sea port in São Filipe, Fogo, will be unveiled this week. The 140 million-escudo project was executed by construction company Armando Cunha (A Semana).

ENERGY

The government of Cape Verde and two foreign companies, Vestel and Infraco signed a contract for construction of four wind farms, aimed at providing 25 percent of the electricity consumed on the archipelago (Macauhub).

Angola news update, December 14th

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Elections, Mining, Oil, Politics, South Africa, Travel on December 14, 2009 at 6:36 pm

POLITICS

Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos signalled the oil-producing nation’s first post-war presidential elections, scheduled for 2009, would have to wait at least another three years (Reuters).

Angola plans to halve the number of nationals living on a dollar or less a day by 2015, Radio Nacional de Angola reported, citing Diogenes de Oliveira, head of parliament’s finance committee. Around 60 percent of the oil-rich nation’s 18 million people live below the poverty line, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos said last week, accusing “irresponsible” officials of squandering state resources (Bloomberg).

OIL

Angola’s national oil company Sonangol won deals to develop two oilfields in one of Iraq’s most dangerous provinces (Reuters).

Marathon Oil Corp. the fourth- largest U.S. energy producer, agreed to sell a 20 percent working interest in Block 32 off the coast of Angola to that country’s state-owned oil company for $1.3 billion (Bloomberg).

The China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec), one of Asia’s largest oil refiners, may be granted an oil field in Angola by its parent company China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec Group), the China Business News newspaper reported (Macauhub).

BANKING

Portugal’s second-largest listed bank Banco Espirito Santo said it agreed to sell a 24 percent stake in its Angolan unit for around 254 million euros ($375 million) (Reuters).

Standard Bank, Africa’s biggest lender by assets, said its Angolan unit will start operations next year with capital of $50 million (Bloomberg).

South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) has decided to expand into the Angolan market, and is waiting for approval from the Luanda authorities to open a representative office (Macauhub).

MINING

The state-run diamond company, Endiama EP, aims to produce gems without foreign support. “We need to produce our diamonds ourselves,” chairman Sumbula said. The company’s partners include De Beers, which produces about 40 percent of the world’s diamonds. Endiama also aims to “make profits for the state” and is now engaged “classifying” its staff to see “what each can offer the company,” the Luanda-based company said (Bloomberg).

AIRPORTS  AND TRAVEL

The runway at Luena airport in Angolan province of Moxico, was re-opened  after work that began in May 2007 was concluded by Chinese construction company Sinohydro Corporation to extend the runway from 2,400 metres to 3,350 metres and a width of 60 metres (Macauhub).

The new Lubango international airport, in the capital of Angola’s Huila province, is due to be handed over within the next few days, the head of the company responsible for inspecting the project told Angolan news agency Angop (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, December 6th

In Airports, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Elections, Politics, Ports, Security, Tourism, Travel on December 6, 2009 at 3:46 pm

AIRPORTS & TRAVEL

São Pedro Airport on the island of São Vicente received a test flight of TACV Cabo Verde Airlines’ Boeing 757-200 at 2:20 pm December 4. This is one of the final tests in the audit being carried out by the Civil Aeronautics Agency (AAC) prior to allowing the airport to open for international flights (A Semana).

The financial directorships of TACV Cabo Verde Airlines and Airport and Air Security company ASA reached an accord on the night of Monday, November 30, to overcome the impasse regarding the payment of the flagship airline’s debt to the airport management company, estimated at more than 1.3 billion escudos. TACV has promised to pay more than 10 million escudos per month to ASA (A Semana).

PORTS

The process of privatisation of Cape Verde’s port services is due to be concluded in June, 2010, the manager of the Programme for Regulation and Privatisations in Cape Verde said in Praia. The ports of Praia and Mindelo are due to be handed over to two concession-holders, whilst the port of Palmeira will have just one concession (Macauhub).

HEALTH

Cape Verde’s Minister of Health, Basílio Mosso Ramos, announced that Cape Verde had registered 272 new cases of AIDS in 2008, indicating a stabilization in the number of new infections in the archipelago. Cape Verde’s seroprevalance is 0.8% (A Semana).

POLITICS

The president of opposition party MpD, Carlos Veiga, will be a special guest at the congress of the European People’s Party (PPE) in Bonn, Germany between December 8 and 10. The party is a member of the Centrist Democrat International, of which the MpD is also a part. The meeting’s host will be German Chancellor Angela Merkel (A Semana).

FINANCE

Eight microfinance institutions undergo training in the realm of data base normalization. The course, which is being supported by the Millennium Challenge Account – Cape Verde, is aimed at raising the entities’ capacities in order for them to be able to normalize their data bases, thus making it easier for them to migrate to a new system in the future. The course will be administered by a consultant from Planet Finance – Brazil, Ricardo Linder, and will take place at the National Administration and Management Institute (INAG) (A Semana).

SECURITY

After several months of relative calm, thieves have once again begun attacking tourists on the beaches of Boa Vista. Local police have registered robberies victimizing tourists on the beaches of Estoril, Chaves and Cabo de Santa Maria (A Semana).

Cape Verde news update, November 29th

In Airports, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Infrastructure, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on November 29, 2009 at 9:45 pm

ECONOMY

The government has proposed the elaboration of partnerships with the private sector to create management corporations for water and electricity utility Electra on an island-by-island basis (A Semana).

The Bank of Cape Verde (BCV) is expecting a “slight recovery” of the economy in 2010, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth of between 4 and 5 percent, after “continues slowdown” due to an “unfavourable international climate” (Macauhub).

The government of Cape Verde wants to turn the Archipelago into a “cybernetic island” and to do this will be supported by India, specifically in creating a technological hub, Cape Verde’s Foreign Affairs Minister said in Praia (Macauhub).

BANKING

Banco Interatlântico has opened its first branch on the island of Santiago outside of the city of Praia. The new branch, in the city of Assomada, is its eighth in the country. The central region of the island of Santiago has grown economically over the past several years, and is now third in the growth ranking in Cape Verde, following the city of Praia and the island of São Vicente (A Semana).

TRAVEL

Cape Verde is currently under the influence of a zone-specific anti-cyclone flow that is favoring the transportation of dust from the coast of Mauritania to the archipelago. The phenomenon, known in Cape Verde as “dry haze,” has led TACV Cabo Verde Airlines to cancel flights from the island of Sal to other islands (A Semana).

Cape Verde’s airline has become a fully-fledged member of the International air Transport Association (IATA), the company’s commercial director said (Macauhub).

Angola news update, November 15th

In Airports, Angola, Brazil, Investments, Oil, Security, South Africa, Travel on November 15, 2009 at 11:17 pm

INVESTMENT

Portugal’s retail-heavy conglomerate Sonae plans to expand to Angola and open its Continente hypermarkets in the southwest African country, Diario Economico newspaper said (Reuters).

OIL

Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras said it found oil in deep waters off Angola. The oil, in the Cabaca Norte-1 well, around 350 kilometers (219 miles) north of Luanda, is the second discovery within the 15/06 bloc in which Petrobras has a 5 percent stake (Reuters).

Petrobras is interested in exploring for oil in “deep and ultra-deep” waters off the coast of Angola, the Brazilian Trade and Industry Minister said (Bloomberg).

The chairman of Portuguese oil group Galp Energia said in Lisbon that production has seen a ”strong drive” with the start of production at the Tômbua-Lândana oil field, at which the company expects production of 90,000 barrels of oil per day in 2010 (Macauhub).

SECURITY

Armed Angolan gangs are targeting Chinese workers in “mafia-style” attacks, a construction boss said, creating a climate of fear among the Chinese community in Luanda Read the full story in the Mail & Guardian.

AIR TRAVEL

Angolan national airline Taag launched a direct flight between Luanda and Cape Town, with flights twice a week, Angolan news agency Angop reported (Macauhub).

Angola news update, November 8th

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Economy, Mining, Travel on November 8, 2009 at 1:38 pm

ECONOMY

Angola, which vies with Nigeria as Africa’s biggest oil producer, is seeking to raise $4 billion in the sub-Saharan African region’s largest sale of bonds (Bloomberg).

The Angolan economy will expand by 8.2 percent in 2010 and this will largely be driven by the country’s non-oil sector, Economy Minister Manuel Nunes Junior said (Macauhub).

BANKING

Banco International de Credito of Angola may bid for Portugal’s state-owned Banco Portugues de Negocios SA, Reuters said, citing Fernando Teles, the chief executive officer of the Angolan bank (Bloomberg).

MINING

Angola named Carlos Sumbula chairman of the state-owned National Diamond Company of Angola, known as Endiama E.P, Radio Nacional de Angola reported, without saying where it got the information (Bloomberg).

Agola expelled more than 69,000 illegal immigrants in 2009, Radio Nacional de Angola reported, citing Teresa Silva, chief of the Refugees Department at the country’s Foreign Service. The immigration looks organized as “masses of people” enter the country at once, the broadcaster cited Silva as saying (Bloomberg).

AIR TRAVEL

Portuguese airline TAP, that may be associated with Brazilian airline TAM, sees itself as a future partner for Taag, in the wake of the restructuring underway in the Angolan airline sector, aimed at turning it into a benchmark within Africa (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, November 8th

In Airports, Brazil, Cape Verde, Economy, Tourism, Travel on November 8, 2009 at 1:25 pm

TOURISM

With the increase in the number of charter flights to the islands of Sal and Boa Vista, Cape Verde was the tourist destination that showed the highest growth this year, with the number of passengers traveling from Portugal more than doubling. One of the interesting pieces of data revealed is that the number of charter flights to Sal increased despite the new “competition” from Boa Vista (A Semana).

ATLANTICO

Brazilian entrepreneurs are attending this week’s Cape Verde International Fair as the archipelago could offer an opening into African markets, says Ruby Arauju, head of the Brazil-Cape Verde Chamber of Commerce in Brazil’s Ceara state (Macauhub).

ECONOMY

Cape Verde’s Finance minister last week contradicted the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s forecast about the growth rate of the country’s economy in 2009, saying that her data indicated a 4.5 to 5 percent growth rate (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, November 1st

In Airports, Cape Verde, Economy, Hotels, Real estate, Sao Tome and Principe, Security, Tourism, Travel on November 1, 2009 at 9:51 pm

TOURISM & REAL ESTATE

Prime Minister José Maria Neves presided over the opening of the Public-Private Forum on Residential Tourism on October 30. The forum, whose theme is Residential Tourism – An opportunity for the future of Cape Verde, is being promoted by Promitur and is held at Jotamont Music Academy in Mindelo. The event is intended as a way to share impressions and ideas by both the private and public sectors and the various stakeholders in the residential real-estate and tourism market in the country (A Semana).

AIR TRAVEL

US air company Delta Airlines will begin flying to the island of Sal in the first quarter of 2010, after the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) gave a positive evaluation to the island’s Amílcar Cabral International Airport. Delta Airlines is expected to carry out two weekly flights between Atlanta, Georgia and the island of Sal in Cape Verde (A Semana).

Dutch charter company ArkFly starts operating flights from Amsterdam to Sal and Boavista later this month, with stops at Las Palmas.

Angolan flagcarrier TAAG has started weekly flights between the capitals of Luanda and Praia as of last week.

HOTELS

The Morabeza Hotel on the island of Sal has been named Cape Verde’s “Leading Hotel,” a classification given by World Travel Awards (A Semana).

SECURITY

The driver of the ambassador of France in Cape Verde, Fernando Delgado Fortes, was killed in the city of Praia with five shots at a close range, two of them in the head (Visaonews).

ECONOMY

According to figures collated between September 2008 and April of this year, Cape Verde in 2007 had 7,512 companies, as compared to 5,460 in 2002, which is a rise of 38 percent. Most companies are active on the islands of Santiago (3,233 companies), Sao Vicente (1,531), Sal (775) and Santo Antao (522) (Macauhub).

Stability and security and the level of civic participation and respect for human rights distinguish Portuguese speaking African countries, particularly Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe, from their continental counterparts (Macauhub).

Angola news update, October 25th

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Investments, Oil, Tourism on October 25, 2009 at 10:16 pm

ATLANTICO

Angola has withheld $2 billion in payments to Brazilian builders, such as Construtora Norberto Odebrecht, underscoring the tumble in oil prices and the recession that have stymied the African nation, Valor Economico newspaper (Reuters).

OIL

French oil major Total has made an offshore oil discovery in Angola, the company said. Total said its TEPA Ltd subsidiary and Sociedade Nacional de Combustiveis de Angola (Sonangol E.P.) had discovered oil on Block 17/06, in the deep waters of the Angolan offshore (Reuters).

Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co, a unit of Asia’s largest refiner, and Angola’s Sonangol will sign contracts this year to explore and develop oil fields in Ecuador, PetroEcuador said (Bloomberg).

BANKING

Angola Millennium Bank opened on Monday its 14th branch in Luanda and the 20th in the country, taking thus a step in the materialisation of its strategy for expansion of its network, ANGOP has learnt.

ECONOMY

The current situation of the Angolan economy allows for “cautious optimism” under “continued prudence” in managing macroeconomic policies, thanks to a rise in the price of oil on the international market, the World Bank said (Macauhub).

TOURISM

In 2008 Angola received over 294,000 tourists, according to a statistical bulletin from the Hotels and Tourism Ministry presented in Luanda and cited by Angolan newspaper, Jornal de Angola (Macauhub).

AIRPORTS

Angola’s Minister for Transport, Augusto Silva Tomás, said Monday in Luanda that the government programme for investment in airport infrastructures, which is already underway, is expected to cost at least US$400 million (Macauhub).

ATLANTICO

A tile factory with capacity to produce 300,000 square metres of tiles per month will be built in Luanda in 2010 by Brazilian ceramics industry equipment company Entec, the company’s chief executive said  in Luanda.

INVESTMENTS

Stanley Ho, known as the “king of gambling”, is preparing to enter the gaming market in Angola at full force, via a weighty partnership with local businesswoman Isabel dos Santos. The daughter of the Angolan president has joined up with Stanley Ho to develop casinos in Angola and is negotiating available and planned casinos for the country with Kundy Paihama’s Plurijogos, according to last week’s Africa Monitor newsletter (Macauhub).

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